Lorry blockade at US-Canadian border shuts car factories

The lorry blockade by Canadians protesting the country’s Covid-19 restrictions is tightening the screws on the motoring industry, forcing Ford, Toyota and General Motors (GM) to shut down factories or otherwise curtail production on both sides of the US-Canada border.

The bumper-to-bumper demonstration entered its fourth day on Thursday at the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor in Ontario to Detroit, disrupting the flow of car parts and other products back and forth across the border.

Meanwhile, US authorities braced for the possibility of similar lorry-convoy protests in the United States, and authorities in Paris and Belgium banned road blocks to head off disruptions there too.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a bulletin to local and state police it had received reports that lorry drivers were planning to “potentially block roads in major metropolitan cities” in a protest against vaccine mandates and other issues.

The DHS said the convoy could begin in Southern California as early as this weekend, possibly disrupting traffic around the Super Bowl, and reach Washington in March in time for the State of the Union, according to a copy of Tuesday’s bulletin obtained by The Associated Press.

It said the protest could be disruptive and tie up traffic but that there have been no calls for violence.

The ban on road blocks in Europe and the threat of prison time and heavy fines were likewise prompted by online chat groups in France that have been calling for drivers to converge on Paris starting Friday night, and to continue on to Brussels on Monday.

The Ambassador Bridge is the busiest US-Canadian border crossing, carrying 25% of all trade between the two countries, and the effects of the blockade there were felt rapidly.

Ford said its Windsor, Ontario, factory reopened on Thursday after being shut down on Wednesday because of a lack of parts. But the factory and the company’s assembly facility in Oakville, Ontario, near Toronto, are operating at reduced capacity, the firm said.

The “interruption” is negatively affecting customers, workers, suppliers, communities and companies on both sides of the border, Ford said in a statement.

It added:”We hope this situation is resolved quickly.”

On the US side, GM cancelled shifts at its SUV factory near Lansing in Michigan.

Toyota said it will not be able to manufacture anything at three Canadian factories for the rest of the week because of parts shortages. In a statement, it blamed supply chain disruptions, weather and pandemic-related problems, but the shutdowns came just days after the blockade began on Monday.

Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, said all of its North American factories were running on Thursday, but shortages because of the blockade forced it to shorten shifts at several of them.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the Biden administration is watching the bridge blockade closely, noting the risk to the US car industry.

Hundreds of demonstrators in lorries have also paralysed the streets of Ottawa city centre for almost two weeks, and dozens more have been blocking the border crossing at Coutts, Alberta, decrying vaccine mandates for cross-border lorry drivers and other Covid-19 restrictions and railing against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The Freedom Truck Convoy has been promoted and cheered on by many Fox News personalities and attracted support from the likes of former president Donald Trump and Texas senator Ted Cruz.

Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens said on Wednesday that police had not removed protesters there for fear of inflaming the situation, but he added: “We’re not going to let this happen for a prolonged period of time.”

As of Wednesday, the demonstration involved 50 to 74 vehicles and about 100 protesters, police said. Ottawa police said on Thursday they were “able to negotiate for a dozen more trucks to leave” the city and said 10 others left, but officials warned about traffic disruptions because of a new demonstration at Ottawa’s airport.

To avoid the blockade and get into Canada, lorry drivers in the Detroit area have had to drive 70 miles north to Port Huron, Michigan, and cross the Blue Water Bridge, where there was a four-and-a-half-hour delay leaving the US.

While protesters have been calling for Mr Trudeau’s removal, most of the restrictive measures around the country have been put in place by provincial governments. Those include requirements that people show proof-of-vaccination “passports” to enter restaurants, gyms, movie theatres and sporting events.

Many provinces announced plans this week to remove or relax those restrictions after the surge in Omicron cases crested in the country.

Pandemic restrictions have been far stricter in Canada than in the US, but Canadians have largely supported them. Canada’s Covid-19 death rate is one-third that of the US.